


no reason to stay is a good reason to go

by zoeysdianetti



Category: Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (TV)
Genre: Angst, Breakup, F/F, fight, if you thought i'd let them go you are so wrong, lots and lots of angst, this is an emotional mess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-17 02:09:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28592292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zoeysdianetti/pseuds/zoeysdianetti
Summary: "Yes, it's a big change, but there's too many ghosts here in this city and I'm ready for something new. Can't be afraid of change. I don't have anything... holding me here."What exactly are those ghosts Joan is talking about? And why does she seem that sad about leaving? Two words: Ava. Price.
Relationships: Joan/Ava Price
Comments: 5
Kudos: 11





	no reason to stay is a good reason to go

**Author's Note:**

> i'm spiralling and very much in denial about joan leaving and her and ava never being canon so i decided to take matters into my own hands, don't judge me

“Ava, what the fuck?!” Joan yells as she walks through the front door of her villa. Ava is sitting on the couch, watching TV.

“Whoa, Joanie, calm down. What’s happening right now?”

Joan throws her bag on the floor. She’s furious. “What’s going on? Do you really have to ask me that?”

“I mean… Yeah?” Ava has turned off the tv and is standing in front of her girlfriend now.

“Remind me, Ava. When did we agree to let our floors work together? When did we decide to give this relationship another shot?”

“About two weeks ago? Seriously Joan, what is happening?”

“Two weeks.” Joan looks away and breathes deep. She needs to calm down. “Exactly. You’ve been with me almost 24/7 for _two whole weeks,_ and yet I have to find out you fired my best coder through _Zoey? Who had to find out through Leif?”_

“Wait, didn’t we agree to keep our work and personal life separated? This didn’t work out well for us last time.”

“I don’t care Ava. Why didn’t you run this by me first?”

Ava shrugs. Deep down she knows that maybe she should’ve updated Joan. Even if it wasn’t to make firing Max a mutual decision, she should’ve at least _told her_ he was fired. But she’s not about to tell Joan that.

“He worked on my floor. I didn’t think you’d care.”

“He worked on my team for five years. He has been on the sixth floor for _three days._ Of course I care.”

“Well, what’s done is done, right?”

Joan scoffs. “Yes, that’s how you think, isn’t it? That's how it always goes with you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ava exclaims.

“You fuck up and you just write it off as _‘Well it’s in the past now.’_ That’s not how things should work Ava. You could at least take responsibility for your actions.”

Ava is getting more frustrated by the second, fueled by Joan’s rage, aimed right at her. “You can’t keep blaming me for what happened! _You_ ended things with us because you found Charlie. _You_ came to me when he wouldn’t even look at you anymore. _You_ kissed me first. You can’t blame _me_ for thinking you chose me after all that. And you certainly can’t blame me for leaving you when you didn’t. So yes, I left the past in the past, because it just hurt me too much.” 

Ava pauses to collect herself. Joan stares at her, dumbfounded. She continues, calmer this time. She’s on the verge of tears, trying to save whatever can be saved now. “Did you ever think about how I felt, Joanie? When you came running back to me every time something went wrong, but never actually choosing me? I kept giving you more and more chances, hoping maybe this time would be the one. And I thought we finally had it.” Ava’s voice is breaking, she won’t be able to keep from crying any longer. “I really thought so, Joanie. You left Charlie. We made up. The past was forgotten. I really, really thought this would last forever. And how long did it last, huh?”

Joan looks at the tips of her shoes. They’re starting to look worn, she might need to buy a new pair. Or two. Or however many it takes to drown out the sound of Ava’s voice. It’s heartbreaking. She’s crying, waiting for Joan to answer her question, but Joan can’t even look her in the eyes. She knows Ava is right. She hasn’t been a great girlfriend to her. She never was.

“Yeah, of course,” Ava scoffs when Joan doesn’t answer her question. “But I’m the one who needs to take responsibility, right?” A pause. “Two weeks Joan. And why did it end this time? Because I fired a coder whose name you barely knew. I just… I don’t get you. But it’s alright. I’ll get my stuff. Leave again, until you’re bored again. Except this time, I won’t be pulled into your madness again. Figure it out on your own. Find a new toy. I’m done.”

Ava walks away, into the hallway. She’s halfway her way upstairs when Joan finally regains control over her body. She runs after her. “Ava, wait!”

“No.”

“Aves…”

Without grabbing her things, Ava turns around and walks back downstairs, trying to get away from Joan. Joan yells after her, but she’s out the door and she doesn’t look back. It’s over for real this time.

Joan sinks down on the floor when the door slams shut after Ava. Tears are streaming down her face. She royally fucked up and fears there’s no way to fix it this time. 

She doesn’t know how long she’s been sitting there crying, but after a while she decides she can’t keep wallowing like this. She needs to get Ava back, one way or another. And so it happens Joan is on the road to Ava’s house five minutes later. What she didn’t anticipate was Ava not being home. Joan knows driving around calms Ava down, so she stays in her car and waits for her to come back.

Ava didn’t show up. The next morning, the only car in her driveway is still Joan’s. Joan has called and texted, but it’s no use. Ava is not replying. Tired from being up all night and with a sore back from sitting in her car for ten hours, Joan decides to go home. She’ll see Ava at work. They can talk then.

But she doesn’t see Ava at work. In the shared SPRQ Point calendar, Joan can see Ava took two weeks off. With Zoey gone too because of the loss of her dad, there’s not a single person in the office she can vent to, so she does the only thing she can handle right now: she starts working from home. Far away from all of the things that remind her of Ava. The stuff Ava left at Joan’s house is in a cardboard box, waiting in the hallway until Ava comes to pick it up. Joan knows she’ll never come, but she still holds on to that tiny bit of hope, until eventually that starts hurting too much too.

Joan calls Danny Michael Davis to ask him if his offer still stands. An hour later Joan is interim CEO of SPRQ Point and the process to relocate her to Singapore to run the entire Asian division of the company has been started up. It feels good to know she’s getting out of San Francisco soon, away from all of the ghosts that haunt her there. Away from everything that reminds her of Ava. It’s time for a fresh start.


End file.
